Halladay Was Flying His ICON A5 Light Sport Amphibian When He Perished Near St. Petersburg

“We were devastated to learn that former MLB pitcher Roy Halladay died today in an accident involving an ICON A5 in the Gulf of Mexico. We have gotten to know Roy and his family in recent months, and he was a great advocate and friend of ours. The entire ICON community would like to pass on our deepest condolences to Roy’s family and friends. ICON will do everything it can to support the accident investigation going forward and we will comment further when more information is available.”

Original report:

At 1300 local time on Tuesday November 7th 2017, eight-time MLB All-Star and two-time Cy Young award winning pitcher Roy “Doc” Halladay was killed when the ICON A5 light sport amphibian aircraft he was flying crashed into the Gulf of Mexico about ten miles west of St. Petersburg in Florida. The aircraft came to rest inverted in shallow water. Halladay was 40 years old.

No cause for the crash has yet been determined and an investigation is underway. Halladay had only owned the 2018 ICON A5, a Special Edition dubbed the “Founder’s Edition 001”, since October 12th 2017. The aircraft, N922BA, was registered to his father.

The ICON A5 Aircraft

The ICON A5 is a two place light sport aircraft powered by a Rotax 912 iS fuel injected four cylinder engine producing 100 horsepower and turning a 3 bladed pusher-configured composite propeller. The aircraft required a waiver to increase its maximum takeoff weight to remain within the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) light sport category. Some controversy clouded the ICON A5 due to a revised purchaser’s agreement from May of 2016 that removed mandatory cockpit voice and video recording devices.

Equipped with folding wings, a whole-airframe Ballistic Recovery Systems parachute system, and a unique (in category) angle of attack indicator, ICON A5s have been flying since 2014. Three A5s have been lost in fatal mishaps; this is the second one this year.

Image Courtesy ICON Aircraft

“Doc” Halladay’s MLB Resume

Roy “Doc” Halladay pitched for a total of 16 seasons in the big leagues. He broke into “the show” with the Toronto Blue Jays of the American League (AL) in 1998. He played 12 seasons there and then another four seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies of the National League (NL). Halladay won 203 games with a 3.38 ERA. He also won the Cy Young in 2003 (in the AL) and 2010 (in the NL). On May 29th 2010 Halladay pitched the 20th perfect game in MLB history. “Doc” Halladay then threw the second no-hitter in MLB postseason history in the same season- the first pitcher to accomplish that feat since Nolan Ryan in 1973. Halladay will be eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2019.

We are saddened by the tragic news that Roy Halladay, 2-time Cy Young Award winner & 8-time All-Star, has died in a plane crash. He was 40. pic.twitter.com/SOFv3bOLyt

Bill Walton is a life-long aviation enthusiast and expert in aircraft recognition. As a teenager Bill helped his engineer father build an award-winning T-18 homebuilt airplane in their Wisconsin basement. Bill is a freelance writer, an avid sailor, engineer, announcer, husband, father, uncle, mentor, coach, and Navy veteran. Bill lives north of Houston TX with his wife and son under the approach path to KDWH runway 17R, which means they get to look up at a lot of airplanes. A very good thing.